There are an array of benefits associated with growing your own kitchen garden at home. Both for your well-being and for the planet as a whole. We know all too well by now what impact human activity is having on the planet and this is driving many of us to start living more sustainable lives. The garden is a brilliant place to begin a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s easily accessible, very rewarding and a lot of fun. You can create your own kitchen gardens with limited patio space too. Using containers or raised beds instead. If you have no outside space, a window sill can be used to grow fresh herbs.

Kitchen Garden @ Ness Botanic Gardens

How can kitchen gardens save the planet?

Have you ever noticed just how much plastic packaging is involved when it comes to fruit and veg? You might think that this is superfluous, but plastic is often used to help increase the shelf life of produce. Cucumbers, for example, last around four days if they don’t come wrapped in plastic but they last for up to ten if they do.

Growing your own can help you get around the excess packaging since you can grow the veggies you know you like to eat regularly and keep everything entirely plastic-free.

You’re also able to really reduce your carbon footprint with a kitchen garden. Have you ever thought about how far your food has travelled before it reaches your plate? Eating seasonally and shopping locally can reduce the carbon footprint of your food, but so can growing food at home. 

If you and your neighbours start to grow together, you could even engage in lots of fun produce swaps - really helping to foster a sense of community, while doing a lot for the environment at the same time.

Walled Kitchen Garden featuring Jacobean Brick Pavers

How can kitchen gardens help you?

And then, of course, as we mentioned before, there’s the health aspect of gardening that simply can’t be ignored. First of all, you’ll spend a lot more time outside than you might perhaps have done otherwise and all that fresh air and organic food will nourish you from the inside out.

It’s also incredibly satisfying to watch something you’ve planted start showing little green shoots and flowering into something you can then harvest for your plate. As you nurture your kitchen garden, you’ll also be nurturing yourself with plenty of opportunities for mindfulness.